Screen Actors Guild sending out 'scab reels'

HOLLYWOOD, California (Reuters) -- Name that strikebreaker. The Screen Actors Guild (SAG) plans to send video reels of non-union TV ads to agents and others in the casting business to identify actors who performed struck work during the recent six-month strike against advertisers.

SAG board member Steve Barr, chief of the union's committee on strikebreakers, said the so-called "scab reels" may contain several hours of ads. He estimated that 70 percent to 80 percent of national TV ads currently airing were non-union spots filmed during the strike, which began May 1 and ended October 30.

The SAG panel also plans to supply the Canadian actors union with identities of Canadian performers who appeared in struck work that was shot in that country. Many commercial producers shot spots at locations north of the border to avoid possible disruption during shoots.

The Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists had advised its 15,000 members not to accept work struck by SAG and the American Federation of Television & Radio Artists.

SAG members who broke ranks could face suspension, fines and expulsion. SAG's national board voted in late October to impose a permanent ban on membership for non-union actors who performed struck work.

Last week, SAG's national executive committee voted last week to create Membership Application Review Committees for each branch to bar any non-union strikebreaker from joining.

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Screen Actors Guild
American Federation of Television and Radio Artists
Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists

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